Chapter 221: Chapter 202: Seven Stars
He struck with his claw, a direct hit to Hong Luan’s face. The bones in her face shattered, and scorching hot blood splattered like lava. Teeth flew out, striking Zhao Xuanqi’s own skin.
In an instant, Hong Luan’s face was a mangled ruin of flesh and blood. Her sharp, phoenix-like eyes and imposing, heroic beauty had vanished completely.
For Hong Luan, who had always treasured her looks, this was the ultimate humiliation. She had never, ever experienced anything like this in her entire life.
’He actually endured the assault of Phoenix Wings Thousand Feathers and got right in my face! How is that possible?! He’s only seen this technique once!!’
What she didn’t know was that the Hundred Beasts Fist fused the forms of a hundred beasts. When it came to animal-form attacks, Zhao Xuanqi was a true grandmaster. In this day and age, perhaps only a handful of people could be his equal.
In the end, the Vermilion Bird Sect was merely a derivative of the Hundred Beasts Fist. Even with great improvements over many generations, its focus was on physical conditioning and its associated Secret Techniques. The fundamental nature of its external attacks hadn’t really changed all that much.
He might not have seen through it the first time, but there was no way it could fool Zhao Xuanqi’s eyes a second time!
Her face had been savaged, yet at this moment, Hong Luan had no room in her heart for shame or anger. Zhao Xuanqi’s assault hadn’t stopped. The blow to her face was merely the beginning!
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
Hong Luan’s ears were instantly filled with terrifying whistling winds. But with her face so grievously wounded, her senses were all but useless. Her brain had also suffered a violent concussion, dulling her perception and intuition.
In that moment, she found it impossible to judge the trajectory and impact points of Zhao Xuanqi’s attacks by sense alone. She could only dodge in a panic. An overwhelming feeling of helplessness, darkness, and despair flooded her heart.
In the past, she was like a Simurgh, perched high above, utterly distinct from all other species. In power, status, and authority, she stood at the apex of the Divine Land’s food chain. She was the hunter, and no one had ever dared to hunt her.
’But now, a vision appeared in her darkened perception: a giant red bird, its once-brilliant feathers in disarray, flapped its wings in a desperate, clumsy panic. But the great bird’s long, serpentine neck was clamped in the jaws of an even more ferocious beast, rendering it immobile.’
She had become the prey, and there was no escape.
’She never would have imagined this mission would end up like this.’
However, Zhao Xuanqi clearly had no intention of giving her time to think. His fists, accompanied by the whistling of a thousand winds, rained down upon her tattered body.
Chest, ribs, shoulder blades, abdomen...
Heavy blows instantly landed on multiple parts of her body.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
The terrifying sound of cracking bones rang out again and again. Her limbs were twisted, and even her spine snapped and bent under Zhao Xuanqi’s Fist Technique. Her internal organs were pulverized into a complete mess.
THUD!
With a dull thud, Hong Luan’s body fell heavily to the ground. She was completely limp, as if boneless, contorted into an utterly bizarre and unnatural posture.
GURGLE. GURGLE.
Blood bubbled from the corners of her slightly opening and closing mouth, but she couldn’t speak. The red glow that had enveloped her body vanished completely, her temperature dropping back to normal. Her crimson skin once again became as fair as jade, though her face was now a hideous mask.
She had completely lost the ability to fight.
However, with the life force of someone at her level of cultivation, it wouldn’t be surprising for her to struggle on the ground for three days and nights without dying, even with such injuries.
Zhao Xuanqi didn’t deliver the killing blow. After all, given her status, if he were to win this Martial Arts Association battle, capturing her alive would certainly be more valuable than killing her.
’Besides, I might be able to get some information out of her about the Vermilion Bird Sect and the Ancient Holy Beast Divine Generals.’
THUMP!
Zhao Xuanqi lashed out with a sudden kick, sending Hong Luan’s limp, ragdoll-like body flying as if she were a ball. She rolled into a corner of the courtyard, out of the way of the impending fight so she wouldn’t get caught in the crossfire.
Then, he whipped his head around, his gaze falling upon the other two.
BOOM!
Just then, a terrifying boom echoed out. Xiang Ji, now towering at nearly three-point-three meters tall, was sent flying like a cannonball, slamming heavily into a nearby courtyard wall. Half the wall instantly collapsed with a thunderous crash.
Xiang Ji struggled to get up. He could feel every cell in his body screaming in protest. He tried to channel his Breaking Extreme Intent, but his body gave no response.
The Breaking Extreme Intent could shatter a person’s physical limitations, but in truth, the Secret Technique itself had limits.
In Xiang Ji’s current state, if he pushed his body’s liberation past a certain point, his cells would be unable to bear the strain. They would break down and die completely, leaving him beyond any hope of recovery.
Of the three of them, Xiang Ji was the weakest. He had only recently grasped the Breaking Extreme Intent, and its application in real combat still needed to be refined. Furthermore, he had sustained the most severe injuries in the prior battles. The fact that he had held out for so long against Yue Shu of the Beidou Sect was already an incredible feat.
"Get UP!"
But he had no intention of giving up. ’How can the plan our trio decided on beforehand be allowed to fail completely just because I’m faltering?!’
’It is only a matter of life and death! What has an Overlord to fear?!’
Just as he was about to muster his final dregs of strength to unleash the ultimate Breaking Extreme Intent, a voice reached his ears from a distance.
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